FARMING leaders have defended the Government’s decision to allow badger culling to continue in Cumbria.

National Farmers’ Union vice-president Stuart Roberts said that bovine TB (bTB) remained one of the biggest threats to the beef and dairy industry in large parts of the country and it was crucial that the Government pursued all controls it could to eradicate it.

His comments followed an announcement by Defra that it intended to extend badger culling to 11 new areas of England at low-risk from the devastating disease, and to continue culling in 29 areas, including Cumbria.

But a Cumbrian wildlife charity says it continues to oppose the cull and insists that killing badgers will not eradicate bovineTB in cattle.

The first cases of bovine TB in badgers in Cumbria were confirmed in August 2017. Officials from the Animal and Plant Health Authority believe the disease spread into the Low Risk Area (LRA) from cattle brought from Northern Ireland with the disease transmitting to wildlife.

Bovine TB was first found in the area, known as the Shap Cluster, in November 2014.

Government figures of bTB surveillance in badgers showed that 602 badgers were culled in Cumbria last year and 40 out of 363 tested badgers (11 per cent) were positive for bTB.

Stephen Trotter, chief executive of Cumbria Wildlife Trust, said: “We’ve opposed the cull since its beginning and will continue to do so. We do not allow culling on any of our nature reserves. We work closely with many farmers across Cumbria and recognise the difficulties they face.”

He added: “No-one wants to see cattle herds being devastated by bTB, but killing badgers will not solve the problem.

“Badgers are not the primary cause of the spread of bTB in cattle: the primary route of infection is cattle-to-cattle contact.

“The Government’s badger cull is flying in the face of science. It should be putting more resources into speeding up the development of an effective cattle vaccine, amongst other measures.”

Mr Roberts added: “The NFU has always supported a holistic approach to tackling this devastating disease which includes strengthening cattle movements, appropriate vaccination measures, biosecurity and controlling the disease in wildlife.

“It has always been the case that the culls need to run for four years and that it will be a number of years after that before the full evidence of their effectiveness is available.

“We remain confident that the ongoing culls are delivering an overall reduction in bTB in cattle so it is welcome news that 11 new licences have been issued this year.”

The wildlife trust is also urging people to write to their MP, asking them to help stop the cull.